Bleach: Reloaded
by cmartist
Summary: What if instead of meeting Ichigo, our favorite Shinigami met up with a different redhead? A slight AU to the Bleach story.
1. Prologue

**Bleach X**

A little experiment with an idea that came to mind. What if instead of Ichigo, our favorite Shinigami (Death God) met a different red head?

**Prologue**

"What the hell do ya think you're doing!" the teen yells at the red head before him. For a small guy, he had some nerve knocking him down and talking back to him like he was better than he was. "I'll show ya...!" Throwing a punch at his face, the last thing he remembers is a sharp pain on his shoulder as he slams face first into the pavement.

"I think you'd better shut up now," the teen responds as rests the shinai on his shoulder.

"Boss!" the two other skateboarders yell as they see that said 'boss' wasn't about to get up any time soon. _'When did he take out that shinai? Wasn't it on his back a while ago? Who the hell is this kid?'_ were the thoughts running through their heads. Before they could take revenge, the teen looks back at them with his cold amethyst eyes which causes them to freeze on the spot.

"Do you know what that is?" he asks, pointing to the fallen flower on the side of the road with his shinai as he stared at one of the two skateboarders.

"Err, an offering for a kid who died here?"

"Exactly," he answers, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly which caused the two to shiver unconsciously. "And why is it lying on the ground?" he asks the remaining teen the smile never leaving his face.

"B...because we hit it while we were skating around?" he stutters tentatively. He and his friend yelp as the red head had now narrowed his eyes in scary expression, seemingly glowing amber in the sunset.

"And why is it _still _lying on the ground?" he continues, his voice now dangerously low as killing intent suddenly filled the whole area.

"AAIIIE!" The two immediately fix the bottle and pick up their companion before turning tail and running off, a trail of dust in their wake.

"Hmph." Sheathing the shinai on his back, he turns to the pole where the flower was placed, the angry expression from earlier replaced with a gentle smile. "Is that ok with you?" he asks seemingly to the air.

"Thank you, mister," a young girl's voice replies as a ghostly figure materializes next to the young boy. "Now I can finally spend my time quietly."

"Don't mention it," he replies, offering a short bow to the girl. "Just try to go to Heaven this time." As he walks away, he sighs as his mind drifts back to what happened a few moments ago. _'I didn't want to scare them so much but they that girl deserves just as much justice whether or not she's dead or alive.'_ Approaching his house, he shakes his head as he braces himself for what is sure to come. Opening the door, he lets out a hesitant greeting. "Tadai..."

"YOU'RE LATE FOR DINNER!" a man yells as he delivers a powerful kick to the teen's head.

"Orororo?" the red haired teen moans as he tumbles into the wall from the force of the impact.

"KENSHIN! DIDN'T I TELL YOU THAT YOU HAD TO BE HOME BY 7'PM?" Isshin Kurosaki yells as he continues to pound on his wayward son.

"Orororo..." Kenshin continues to moan as he wobbles between the attacks in a drunken stupor. "I had to help a girl ghost a few blocks away," he retorts with the same soft spoken demeanor.

"ARE YOU RUBBING IN THE FACT THAT I CAN'T SEE OR TOUCH GHOSTS LIKE YOU?" he counters while trying to strike Kenshin who seemed to be avoiding each and every attack.

"Dad! Stop picking on Kenshin!" Yuzu admonishes as she runs towards her older brother who was still wearing a dazed expression.

"OH WHY IS MY SON SO WEAK? I'VE TRIED TO TRAIN HIM AS BEST AS I COULD, MOTHER!" Isshin cries as he plasters himself on the huge wall poster of his late wife.

"Train? Yeah, right," Karin interjects. "This from the guy who still talks like a kid. Besides, who trains people by beating them up as soon as they see them?"

Scolded by his two daughters, Isshin crouches in a corner, an aura of depression around him as he softly mumbles to himself. "Oh, how puberty has taken my daughters away from me, mother."

"It's ok, Karin, Yuzu. I'm used to dads antics by now," Kenshin responds, the gentle smile still on his face as he works out some kinks in his back.

"I don't get how you can be so laid back, Ken-nii (1)," Karin huffs as she returns to her dinner. "If I were you I'd have beaten dad clear into next week." The latter statement causing Isshin to flinch and sob exaggeratedly. "By the way, you have a new guest," she adds. "Must be tough to be hi-spec, being able to feel, see, hear, and touch ghosts."

"Oro?" Looking behind him, he sees the ghost of a middle-aged man hovering in the air. "I keep telling them to go to Heaven but no matter how many times I do it they still keep coming," he sighs as he tries to shoo away the ghost.

"I'm so envious," Yuzu sighs. "You and Karin can see ghosts while I can only feel their presence. "Don't you think it's great, Karin?"

As his two sisters debate over how 'cool' it was to see ghosts, Kenshin heads up to his room for a well deserved rest. Laying down on his bed, he wonders about how his family had varying degrees of detecting spirits. _'As far as I can remember, I've always been able to see and touch ghosts but never this clearly before. And why not the rest of my family?'_ Deep in thought, he almost fails to notice the figure dressed in black land on his window sill.

Looking at the person, he notices a young 'boy' in a black hakama, eyes scanning the area as his hand fingered the katana on his waist. As the person jumps inside, he lands with nary a sound on the room floor as he continues to search for something. "Um, excuse me?" Kenshin pipes up. The person seemed to ignore him as he continued to slowly walk around the room. "Ano...?"

"It's near," the boy whispers as his hand prepared to draw the katana only to be stopped by a well placed kick on his rear, knocking him to the floor.

"You know it's rude to ignore a person who's talking to you," Kenshin admonishes while silently berating himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. It was bad enough how he used to react when people treated him differently for his red hair but he had more or less taken it in stride (albeit after beating up those who resorted to violence).

"Wha...what? You can see me?" the boy nearly stutters as he picks himself up from his undignified position on the floor.

"Of course I can see you," Kenshin sighs, feeling slightly irritated at the kid before him. "For a thief, you sure aren't very good at your job."

"I'm not a thief!" he huffs. "I'm a Shinigami (Death god)!"

"And that is?"

The boy soon goes into a spiel about what Shinigami were where she came from.

Kenshin looks on with a serious look on his face as the boy concluded his explanation with a smug expression.

"So, do you believe me now?"

"A question first," Kenshin interjects, trying in vain to ignore the crappy drawings in front of him. "How can a little boy like you be a Shinigami? And with such poor drawing skills?" he asks, not quite noticing the now angry glare the 'boy' was giving him.

"I'M A GIRL, YOU JACKASS! AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION I'M ALMOST TEN TIMES OLDER THAN YOU!" Making a series of hand gestures, she points her palm at the rude red head and shouts out an incantation. "Demon Form 1, Immobilize!"

Almost instantly, Kenshin feels his arms being pulled back behind him. The sudden movement causes him to tip forward and slam face first into the floor. "Oro? What the hell happened?"

"Demon magic. Only possible by Shinigami," the girl sneers as she glares evilly at the now bound Kenshin. "You know, I should kill you for calling me a boy. Just be glad that we're not allowed to kill humans unless we're ordered to. Now, the only thing left is..."

Kenshin's eyes widen as the girl draws the katana and suddenly thrusts downward towards his head. "AHHHHHH!" Closing his eyes as he prepares for the blow, he is surprised to hear it tap softly beside him. Sneaking a peak, he sees the hilt of the sword on the head of the middle-aged ghost from downstairs, a pale blue glow now surrounding the ghost.

"I...I don't want to go to hell," the ghost pleads, fear quite present in his eyes.

"Don't worry," the girl responds gently. "You're not going to hell, but Soul Society. It's a beautiful place where you'll find peace."

Kenshin couldn't help but stare at the girl, her demeanor so different from the bitchy attitude earlier yet somehow stirring some memory about another girl who had the same kind of personality. "What did you do to him?" he finally asks, still struggling against the bonds which held him.

"That was a Soul Burial. I believe you humans call it 'going to Heaven,'" she smirks. "That's just one of the tasks of a Shinigami."

As she goes into another spiel about the two types of spirits, Kenshin couldn't help but sweatdrop at her poor drawing skills. _'I'd probably understand her more if her pictures actually made sense,'_ he thinks silently to himself, not wanting to risk another 'demon magic' spell to be used on him. His train of thought is interrupted as an unearthly roar reverberates throughout the entire house. "What the...? Hey, Shinigami! Does a hollow have this weird roar?" he yells over the roar.

"...and you see that hollows get purified when...huh? Why are you shouting? How did you know they roar?" the girl asks as her lecture was interrupted.

"Can't you hear it? It's loud enough to wake the dead!" he retorts, trying to worm his way back into a seated position.

"What roar? I don't hear any..." Her reply is cut short as she finally hears the roar of the hollow, eyes widening in shock at having missed such a loud one. _'How can this mere human hear something before I did?'_ she wonders as she stares at the boy. She barely has enough time to think about it when several human screams from downstairs call her attention. Opening the door, she immediately is floored by the massive spiritual power which pours in. _'This power...how could I not have sensed it earlier?'_

'_Those were...'_ Kenshin thinks worriedly. "KARIN! YUZU!" he shouts out. Struggling to get to his feet, his eyes widen in alarm as a bloodied Karin crawling on the floor comes into view. "Ka...rin?"

"Ken...nii," she whispers, obviously struggling to even speak. "Dad...Yuzu...run away..." she croaks before collapsing bonelessly.

The Shinigami rushes to the young girl's side and lets out a sigh of relief; the girl's spirit hadn't been eaten by the hollow. "Stay here!" she commands as she rushes downstairs to confront the hollow, unaware of the catatonic stare Kenshin had on his sister.

"Blood...so much blood," he whispers.

B-B-B

'_The hollow's power is unbelievable,'_ she thinks to herself, having rarely gone up against ones this strong. Readying her Zanpakutou, she charges at the hollow who had a young girl in its grasp but before she even reached the creature a blur rushes past her. As the blur reaches the hollow, she gasps in shock as she sees the teen from upstairs, body no longer bound by the demon magic she had used on him. _'It shouldn't be possible for a human to break demon magic without fatally damaging their soul! How...'_ Her thoughts are interrupted as the teen is slammed into the ground by the hollow's massive fist. Using the distraction, she dashes forward and slices the arm holding the young girl which causes the creature to drop its victim. "Both of you, get out of here! Humans can't fight hollows!"

Shaken out of his stupor, Kenshin catches Yuzu before she hits the ground and jumps back to a safe distance as he watches the two supernatural beings square off. Looking at his sister, he is relieved to see she was still breathing albeit sporting major injuries. "Hollow..." he hisses as his eyes narrow at the monster before placing Yuzu gently on the ground.

Growling at its attacker, it pauses as it sees the human boy catch the young girl it had dropped. Sniffing the air, it seems to grin evilly as it takes a step towards the red-haired teen. **"I found you,"** it finally speaks. **"I thought I smelled something on that human spirit I ate earlier. She kept yelling for her 'big brother' to save her. Why she wouldn't leave those flowers, I don't know."**

"What?" Kenshin freezes as he realizes who the hollow was talking about. Frozen with grief, he doesn't see the monster charge at him, jaws wide open as it prepares to eat him. He is only shaken out of his stupor as a scream of pain breaks the silence of the night. Eyes focusing once more, he sees the Shinigami blocking the hollow's jaws with her own body, her katana the only thing preventing the jaws from actually killing her outright.

"Idiot..." she hisses in pain. "I told you to run away." Forcing her damaged body to move, she pries the jaws open and manages to force the hollow back but the extent of her injuries were to great as she collapses bonelessly on the concrete. "Damn...I lost too much blood,"

The hollow could only laugh at the situation before him. "**Hahaha! I only expected to eat this human but now I get to eat a Shinigami as well!"**

Kenshin reacts immediately, placing himself between the hollow and the Shinigami. "Bastard," he growl. He moves to charge at the hollow but the girl grabs his shirt, preventing him from rushing forward.

"You...can't win unless you're a Shinigami," she coughs out, feeling her strength drain with each passing moment. "I can't fight anymore so you have to fight in my place."

Momentarily forgetting his anger, he looks curiously at the Shinigami only to see her holding out her katana at him. "How? I thought you said humans can't..."

"Thrust this Zanpakutou into your heart, human. It'll (cough) let me transfer half of my power to you so you can fight the hollow." _'Maybe,'_ she thinks silently as she had never actually heard of it working. "But it might..." she starts, trying to warn him of the danger.

"My name is Kenshin Kurosaki, Shinigami. Not 'human,'" he interrupts, grabbing the hilt of the sword.

"...Rukia...Kukichi," she replies, giving a weak smirk at the teen.

"**What are you two mumbing about?"** the hollow sneers. **"Praying to your gods? No matter, you're both going in my belly anyw..." **He stops as a huge wave of killing intent radiates from the red-haired teen. **"What?"**

Standing over Rukia was Kenshin but instead of his normal street clothes, he had a midnight black hakama just like Rukia did. Strapped to his waist was a regular katana, his finger already on the tsuba as if ready to draw the sword. His eyes had narrowed down to near slits as he glared dispassionately at the hollow.

Rukia on the other hand no longer wore her Shinigami uniform and looked thoroughly shocked at her current state. _'He...took _all_ my power? Impossible.'_ As she stares at Kenshin, she could feel the enormous killing intent coming off the teen. _'No person should have that much killing intent,'_ she thinks to herself. _'It's like he's an assassin.' _Looking back at the hollow, she could see it charge at Kenshin and the teen just stood there doing nothing. "Idiot! Move!" She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene as she suddenly feared her effort to transfer her powers to Kenshin was simply in vain.

"**Prepare to die, human!"** the hollow screams as it neared its prey, ignoring the danger signals his senses were telling him.

"For daring to strike my family," Kenshin whispers, a dream-like memory causing his body to move of its own volition, his eyes suddenly taking on an amber hue. "For killing _her..._die."

Without any movement from the newly born Shingami, the hollow's leg falls clear off the body, the appendage flying off in a random direction.

'_What! I didn't even see him draw the Zanpakuto!'_ Rukia gasps, her mouth wide open in shock at the apparent skill Kenshin had shown. Only once had she seen someone move that fast and even then it seemed to pale to the red head before her. However, the teen was nowhere to be found as all that she saw was some stirred dust where he once stood. _'Where...?'_

"**DAMN YOU, HUMAN!"** the hollow roars as it begins to tip over from the loss of its leg. It doesn't have time to say anything further as a cold voice from above causes it to sense something it hadn't felt in a long time...fear.

"_Ryūtsuisen_."

Rukia could only stare as Kenshin landed in front of the hollow in what appeared to be a downward slash. Kenshin proceeded to sheath the Zanpakuto, turning his back on the hollow as he did so which caused her to shout out a warning. "Don't turn your back on...!" She pauses mid-sentence as a thin line suddenly appears in the middle of the hollow's mask and continues downward until the whole head itself was split in two.

"**Im...possible,"** the hollow manages to croak before he starts to disintegrate. Just before everything goes black, he sees the human turn back to face him, eyes a familiar amber shade. **"You...are..."**

As the hollow faded away into nothingness, Rukia's attention turned to Kenshin who was now staring at her with that chilling impassive stare which seemed to look into the very depths of her soul. She flinches involuntarily as he begins to walk towards her, his expression the same as when he dispatched the hollow. Stopping in front of her, she starts to wonder if it was a mistake to give her powers to this human but that thought is dispelled as he collapses in front of her fast asleep. Sighing in relief, she looks around at the destruction and at Kenshin's injured family and starts to drag the unconscious teen back to the house.

**-**To be continued-

Notes:

(1) Just sounds better when she calls Kenshin, Ken-nii, instead of just Kenshin. Plus, it's almost the same as her calling him Ichi-nii instead of Ichigo.

(2) Kenshin IS a bit OOC but I have my reasons: a) While he is still Kenshin, the fact that he has red hair should have him grow up with the same discrimination Ichigo had to go through AND should make him less of the weeny he pretented to be in the canon. b) Part of the appeal of Bleach, in my opinion, is the crass nature of Ichigo and I felt part of it needed to stay.

(3) This was just an experiment really, so please tell me what you think.


	2. The Replacement

**Bleach: Reloaded**

**Disclaimer:** Bleach and Runoni Kenshin belong to their respective owners. Unfortunately that isn't me :p

**The Replacement**

'_Blood. So much blood,'_ he thought as it fell like rain on the battlefield. Surrounded by dozens of corpses, he felt no remorse as he shook the thick ichor which coated his blade. However, there was still one enemy in sight but its form was dark, blurred. Still, it was an enemy and it needed to be eliminated. Charging at the figure, he gives a powerful slash, cutting the enemy down. It collapses in a heap at his feet but then his vision suddenly clears, the figure revealing itself to be a petite woman in a black hakama. A tidal wave of emotions rush through him, shock, sadness, rage, loathing, sorrow, as he cradles the woman in his arms. She moves her lips yet no sound could be heard. As she slowly closes her eyes, a name finally associates itself with the face he saw.

'_Rukia.'_

Kenshin shoots up with a start, the images from the dream still fresh in his mind. For the last few years, he had had this sporadic dream about a pale woman in a white kimono that he 'killed', her hair smelling of jasmine even as blood was soaking through her clothes. Tonight was...different...to say the least. For one, the girl was different. She was shorter and her clothes were black instead of the pristine white he remembered. Then he finally remembered the events of the night before, eyes widening as he rushed out of bed to check his family. "Yuzu! Karin! Dad! Are you...!"

"ISSHIN FLYING KICK!" yells a deep voice as its foot slams into Kenshin's head, knocking the boy into the wall.

"Orororo..." he moans as he peels himself from the wall. "Dad, what...?"

"Good morning, weak son!" Isshin jeers lovingly as only a father could (or so Isshin believed in his mind). "I see you're awake early this time."

Kenshin, still half-asleep / half-groggy from his father's attack, could only stare at the old man as he tried to make sense of what was happening. "Wha...how?"

"Come down for breakfast, Ken-nii!" Yuzu yells from downstairs.

Kenshin rushes down, easily dodging his father's follow-up attacks as he stares at his uninjured sisters already eating at the table. Looking around, he could see the hole in the wall caused by the attack last night and his two sisters acting as if nothing happened. "The hole..." he manages to blurt to which his dad answers almost nonchalantly.

"Yeah, amazing that our house of all places got hit by a truck, eh?"

"What's more amazing is that none of us even woke up," Karin retorts dryly.

"In any case, it's good no one was hurt," Yuzu adds as she places a fried egg on Kenshin's plate.

A million thoughts running through his head, Kenshin takes a seat and listens to his sisters' conversation which just caused him no end to his confusion. _'Did...was last night really just a dream?'_ he wonders, his hand still remembering the feel of the katana he thought he held. _'No. It was real,'_ he answers to himself. _'Did that girl just do a men-in-black act and erase their memories?'_ Before Kenshin could ponder it further, a foot slams into his face just as he reached for his fried egg.

"You must always be alert, Kenshin!" Isshin Kurosaki admonishes as his son collapses in his chair.

"Ororo..."

B-B-B

"So Orihime, what did you bring for lunch?"

"Hmm," Inoue thinks for a moment. "It's fish-shaped sweet bean bread with ramen, wasabi and honey. Do you want some?"

Tatsuki pales slightly as a visual image of the dish comes to mind before waving off the offer. "No thanks, I...have my own lunch."

"Are you sure? It's delic..." Inoue doesn't get to finish her statement as someone bumps into her, knocking her to the floor. "Owwww."

"Ah! Inoue-san. Are you all right?" Kenshin asks as he reaches for the girl.

"Kenshin! You should watch where you're going!" Tatsuki admonishes the boy, bopping him once on his head.

"No, it's ok," Inoue answers. As she picks herself up, she reaches for the outstretched hand and looks directly into Kenshin's face. Kenshin...-san?"

"Eh? Are you hurt?" he answers, the same gentle smile still on his face.

"Umm, No! I mean, yes! I mean, ahh..." the girl starts to babble as she struggles to hide the huge blush on her cheeks, running away from her red-haired classmate and unfortunately into a pillar.

"Oi! Orihime!" Tatsuki calls out to her friend.

"Umm, is she really ok?" Kenshin asks, apparently oblivious to what just happened.

"You're really dense, aren't you?" Tatsuki smirks at her friend, giving him another bop on the head who cringes exaggeratingly. "Anyway, so why did you come in so late? It's almost lunchtime.

Kenshin scratches the back of his head and gives a shaky laugh. "Ahahaha. Lots of...stuff...happened."

"What kind of 'stuff'?" she asks, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Oi, Kenshin!" Keigo calls out from inside the classroom.

"I'll tell you later, Tatsuki," Kenshin apologizes, running into the classroom. _'Whew. Safe,'_ he thinks, not really sure how he was going to explain 'that' to Tatsuki.

"Asano-kun, Kojima-kun," Kenshin calls back as he walks towards his desk.

"I heard your house got hit by a truck," Kojima states. "Did you get it all cleaned up?"

"I don't think that's something we can clean overnight," Kenshin sweatdrops. Sometimes his classmates could be idiots.

"Do you need help?" interjects a softspoken yet deep voice.

"No, I don't..." Kenshin stops mid-sentence as he notices the owner of the voice, 'Chad' standing next to him. "It's fine," he finally responds. _'No matter how many times I see him, he's still as imposing as ever,'_ Kenshin thinks to himself. As the conversation starts to shift to regular school talk, an overly cheery voice suddenly speaks behind him.

"Oh, so _you're_ Kurosaki-kun," the girl says.

'_That voice...sounds familiar,'_ Kenshin thinks to himself as he turns around. "Yes, I'm Ken...shin?" His voice trails off as he recognizes the owner of the voice. Granted the manner of speech was different and she wasn't wearing that ridiculously black outfit, the hairdo and deep indigo eyes left little doubt as to her identity.

"My name is Kuchiki. I will be sitting next to you," she responds demurely, which causes a twitch in Kenshin's eyebrow. Mizuiro notices the twitch and proceeds to interrogate their red-head classmate.

"What's wrong, Kenshin? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Ahahaha, what makes you say that, Kojima-kun?" Kenshin laughs haltingly. _'You don't know the half of it,'_ Kenshin thinks to himself.

"Yes what makes you say that, Kojima-kun? This is the first time I've met Kurosaki-kun," Rukia answers with the same sickingly sweet voice.

"I guess we should introduce you then, Kenshin. This is Kuchiki-san, the new transfer student. She started this morning while you were late."

"I'm very pleased to meet you," Rukia adds, reaching out to shake Kenshin's hand.

'_What the hell is up with that dialogue?'_ he thinks to himself while maintaining his ever present smile. As he reaches for the offered hand, he notices a few words written on her palm which causes shivers to run up his spine.

**Make a scene and I'll kill you!**

'_Well, two can play at this game,' _he thinks to himself as he shakes her hand. "Ah, Kuchiki-dono, this one is pleased to make your acquaintance." The reaction is not what he expects however, as she flinches slightly at the honorific before her 'mask' sets in again.

"Kurosaki-kun, can I speak with you for a minute?" Rukia asks as she tugs on Kenshin's arm.

'_If I'm going to die, I may as well go out with a bang,'_ Kenshin thinks to himself. "After you, Kuchiki-dono," he offers, bowing slightly before the petite girl which causes her to scowl again in his direction.

As the two leave the classroom, Asano cries exaggeratingly at the retreating pair. "Why does Kenshin get all the girls!"

The other two could only stare at their overly emotional classmate and sigh. Kenshin _was_ Kenshin after all.

B-B-B

"So, Kuchiki-dono, what did you want to speak to this one about?"

"Stop it with that way of speaking! It doesn't sound good on you!" Rukia admonishes as she drops her act.

"Well, you started it by talking _that_ shudder...way. What did you do? Read out of a shoujo manga?" Kenshin retorts jokingly. He sweat drops as he notices her flinch at the accusation. "You did, didn't you?"

"Shut up! You should be impressed I learned it all in one night!" she huffs, tying hiding her blush from the boy. She _had_, after all, really studied hard.

"Hai, hai," Kenshin responds, holding his arms up defensively. "So why are you still here? I thought that after defeating that monster you'd be back in...what did you call that place?"

"Soul Society," Rukia reiterates, no longer using her 'fake' accent.

"Ah, sorry. Your drawings were so horrible last night I didn't really pay attention to your lecture," Kenshin answers, giving a small chuckle. That turned out to be the wrong thing to say as the small girl packed a surprisingly powerful kick.

"Baka!" she growls at the prone teen. "Only Shinigami (Death Gods) can return to Soul Society and someone so _blatantly_ took all my powers!"

"Oro?" Kenshin pipes up, pointing to himself.

"Yes, you! Thanks to you, I am forced to use this gigai (faux body)!" Seeing Kenshin's clueless expression, she decides to explain the basics to the neo-Shinigami. "It's a temporary body dispensed to Shingami for emergencies. If Shinigami suddenly become incapacitated or extremely weak, we enter these bodies and wait for our powers to recover." Her lecture is interrupted as Kenshin starts pinching her cheeks and pulling them to the side.

"Ah, so that's how my classmates were able to see you," he replies in awe. "Well made, too. It feels real." He fails to notice Rukia turning red, her surprised look turning into a glare.

"That hurts, you know!" she yells, punching the red-haired teen into the ground once more. "Anyway, until my powers return to me you'll be helping me with my work as a Shinigami."

"Excuse me?" Kenshin tries to interrupt, but the girl still continued on her spiel.

"It's quite obvious. Shinigami have a job to do here in the human world. I don't have any Shinigami powers. _You_ do, so therefore _you_ have to do _my_ job. It's an honor for a human to become a Shinigami so..."

"I'm afraid I'll have to refuse your offer," Kenshin interjects suddenly, his expression hardening slightly.

"But...why? You fought magnificently last night!"

Kenshin's expression softens as he looks at the girl in front of him. "I don't like violence," he responds. "I don't even half-remember how I fought that monster so what makes you think I'll be a good Shinigami?"

"I know good fighting form when I see one! That was the move of a master!"

"I'm sorry again, Kuchiki-san, but you have the wrong impression of me. My family is safe, and that's all that matters." Bowing slightly, he turns and starts to walk back to class, failing to notice Rukia mumble slightly under her breath.

"I see. I guess there's no other way." Putting on a red glove, she charges at Kenshin's unguarded back and slams here palm into his head.

The first thing Kenshin feels is the palm slam into the back of his head and a sudden flying sensation. Collapsing in a heap on the ground, he wobbles slightly as he gets back to his feet. "Orororo...what happened?" Looking around, he sees 'himself' lying face-down on the ground. "My body? Eh? What's going on?" Looking at himself, he sees that he was now wearing the same black uniform which he wore last night.

"Come with me," Rukia orders, the tone of her voice hinting she brooked no argument.

Kenshin hesitates for a moment at the girl's command but soon winds up following the girl after she glares at him. As he walked behind the petite Shinigami, Kenshin couldn't help but notice how she kept on looking at her cellphone every so often as she scanned the area. They soon stop at a park which had some flowers laid near a light post. "A plus inhabiting this area will probably be attacked soon," she finally speaks up.

Vaguely remembering something about horrible drawings and 'pluses', Kenshin's musings are cut short as an unearthly roar breaks the silence of the park. Looking to the source of the roar, he sees a huge hollow chasing after a young boy, the monster slobbering as its teeth snapped at the terrified child. His body moving of it's own volition, he starts to run towards the two but a sharp command stops him mid-stride.

"Stop! That child isn't a family member of yours, now is he? Why are you going to help him?"

Kenshin moves to speak, but stops himself as her words ring true, his hand shaking slightly as it twitched towards the katana. He grits his teeth in anger as the child's screams for help keep ringing in his ears.

"Not so easy, is it? Shinigami have to be fair to all souls. You can't...hey!" Rukia shouts as Kenshin ignores her well prepared speech and runs off towards the child. As he reaches the boy, she waited for him to draw the zanpakuto but her expression turns to one of confusion as he picks up the boy and starts to (quite comically) run away from the hollow. "What the hell are you doing!"

"I'm...yipe! Running, what does it look like!" Kenshin retorts back as he avoided a talon swung at him. "Come on, mister hollow, are you sure we can't discuss this?" The inhuman roar was all he got as he dodged another attack directed at him. "I guess not..."

Rukia continued to stare at the red-haired Shinigami as he continued to run circles around the hollow. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation she would have found the whole spectacle funny. "Do you think this is a game?" she replies angrily.

Kenshin didn't deem it necessary to answer. In truth, he couldn't do anything _but_ run. While he was sure he could draw out the katana, _'Zanpaktou,'_ he corrects himself, he was also sure he didn't quite have the skill Rukia believed him to have. Even the supposed battle he won last night was more of a blur than anything else. But still, even as he kept on running he couldn't help but remember all the other fights he had gotten into, much to the chagrin of his late mother. People would pick on him for the smallest reasons, all because his red hair made him look like some punk.

His angry grumblings are interrupted as the boy he carried grasped him tightly like a life preserver as the hollow once again came close to cleaving the two of them in, well, two. Looking at thee boy's terrified expression, something in him suddenly snaps at the absurdity of it all. Here he was, someone who (supposedly) had the power to do something and he wouldn't, all because it didn't concern him. Eyes narrowing, he yells at the former Shinigami as he steels himself for battle. "Rukia! Catch!"

Rukia, who was still fuming at the boy's incredulous actions was caught off guard as a young boy was tossed at her, the two of them collapsing in a heap on the ground. "Oi! Kenshin! What did you do that for?" she yells back in irritation. She stops her rant as she notices Kenshin still running around the hollow but his body language had changed completely. No longer was he acting like a fool but every movement of his body seemed controlled and precise, even his eyes no longer held the same naivete he had projected earlier. All that remained in his eyes showed the heart of a warrior.

Kenshin's body moves almost of it's own volition, causing Kenshin to wonder if those kendo lessons really did help as he circled the creature, the hollow apparently having changed objectives as it now stalked him instead of the spirit of the boy. Seeing the hollow begin its attack, he shifts directions abruptly; dodging the talon and drawing the Zanpakutou in one swift motion; his muscles tensing as he feels the unearthly steel cut through the equally unearthly appendage. Like a hot knife through butter, it slices the hollow's leg, black ichor spurting from where the leg used to be attached.

Screeching in pain, the hollow vanishes in a black mist, causing Kenshin to stare at his sword in morbid facination. His hand starts shaking as he notices the blood which still remained on the spiritual blade he held, the dripping blood bringing forth memories of the dream last night.

"Idiot! You have to cut the head to defeat it!" Rukia yells, silently berating herself for not telling her protégé sooner and somewhat confused at why he froze up.

That yell was all that saved Kenshin from being impaled as the hollow rematerializes behind him, its claw having regenerated in the short time it disappeared. Blocking the attack with the Zanpakutou, he grits his teeth as his is pushed back from the sheer force behind the blow.

The hollow roars angrily at being unable to gut its prey and launches another attack at the red-haired Shinigami. This time it's eyes widen in surprise as the Shinigami effortlessly knocks away its attack, letting the talon slide past the blade as the hilt slams into it's forehead and scrambling what could be called its brain.

Jumping back from the dazed hollow, Kenshin focuses his gaze on the hollow's head as he remembers Rukia's advice. Lowering his sword, he charges head on, Zanpakutou glistening as the sun reflected off its surface.

The hollow tries to stab him with another attack but Kenshin simply dodges it and leaps into the air. Trying to attack him with several limbs this time, the red-haired Shinigami performs a mid-air dodge which should have been all but impossible and lets out a yell as he slashes downward, cutting the hollow's head clear down the middle.

Letting out a final roar, the hollow begins to dissolve again, this time the manner of which showed that it had finally been defeated.

Kenshin watches the hollow in its death throes, a sad expression on his face as it vanished from this world. His face betraying no emotion, he approaches Rukia and the boy, the latter of which was still crying from having 'escaped death' so to speak.

"Kenshin, what are..." Rukia stops mid-sentence as the red-head's expression suddenly returns to the gentle face he had earlier, the teen kneeling in front of the boy as he gently ruffles the kid's hair.

"Time to go to heaven," Kenshin says gently, tapping the hilt of the Zanpakutou on the boy's forehead. Almost immediately, the boy's expression turns to one of peace, a glowing light forming underneath him as his soul transforms into a black butterfly and flies off towards the sky. Smiling briefly, his face returns to its neutral expression as he walks back towards the school grounds, leaving a confused Rukia in the park.

'_He just sent that kid to heaven perfectly. He's finally accepted being a Shinigami,'_ she thinks smugly to herself. As if reading her mind, Kenshin turns around with his usual laid back expression and calls out to her.

"I'm still not going to be your replacement!"

"He...hey! What do you mean? You did everything perfectly!" Rukia finally yells back as she chases after the red-haired teen who simply continued to ignore her tirade.

-To be continued-

Omake:

"Time to go to heaven," Kenshin says gently, slamming the hilt of the Zanpakutou on the boy's forehead like a rubber stamp. Almost immediately, the boy's expression turns to one of pain as he screeches loudly.

"AIEEEE! IT HURTS!"

"Idiot! You're not supposed to tap their head that hard!" Rukia yells, punching the neo-Shinigami in the head.

"Oops."

-To be continued-

Thanks to Wanderer3, Merffles, Miss Selarne and Ant Crown for your reviews Glad to see you enjoyed it so far and I hope to keep meeting your expectations.


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